Window channel



Sept. 30, If7. F. A. BEST WINDOW CHANNEL Fild June 1'0, 1943 INVENTORFRANK .4. 55.57'

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Patented Sept'. 30, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WINQOW CHANNELFrank A. Best, Windsor, Ontario, Canada Application June 10, 1943,Serial No. 490,242

7 Claims.

This invention relates to window channel, such as is used for thereception of the window panes of motor vehicles and the like, and forthe guidance of such window panes, if they are edgewise movable. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to that type of channelconsisting of a sheet metal core strip bent to generally U form andcovered partly or wholly with an enveloping layer of suitable material,designed not only to protect the underlying sheet metal core strip, butalso, to present to the glass pane suitable bearing-surfaces. As willhereinafter appear, although the invention here involved embraces thenished channel, it has more particular relation to the cover stripthereof, to the assembly of such cover strip with a core strip, and tomethod and apparatus for the manufacture of such cover strip.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved channel of thecharacter described, adapted to be bent in the plane of the glass panewhich it receives, and which channel includes a cover strip having extrafullness in at least those regions or zones where elongation isnecessary, so that upon longitudinal bending of the channel, the coverstrip is not torn or the like or detached from the core strip.

Another object .of the invention is to provide an improved cover stripof the character described which can be made at low cost, which can bereadily applied to a sheet metal core strip, which presents satisfactorybearing surfaces to the window pane, and which permits bending of thechannel in the plane of the window pane without liability of tearing ofthe cover strip or detachment thereof from the metal core strip.

A further object is to provide an improved cover strip of the characterdescribed, said cover strip having a body layer which possesses noinherent lengthwise stretch but which is so formed or arranged as to beextensible longitudinally, thereby enabling it to be used in windowchannel designed or intended to be bent in the plane of the window pane,such as around the rounded corners or other portions of the curved edgesof modern automobile window openings.

Still another object is to provide an improved cover strip of thecharacter described, said cover strip having a cross corrugated bodylayer to whichis attached one or more bearing strips for the windowpane, the attachment being of such nature as to maintain saidcorrugations at least to the extent of providing such extra fullness -inthe body layer as to permit bending of the channel in the plane of thewindow pane.

A further object is to provide improved method and apparatus formanufacturing the said cover strip, by which the corrugations in thebody layer are formed progressively, and simultaneously therewith one ormore bearing strips are secured to the corrugated body layer for thepurpose of preserving, as described, the extra fullness in the bodylayer, all at low cost and by simple and very efficient apparatusFurther objects of the invention are in part obvious and ln part willappear more in detail hereinafter.

In the drawings, v-

Fig. 1 is an enlarged perspective view, partly broken away, of one formof window channel provided with a cover strip embodying, and madeaccording to, the present invention; i

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the finished cover strip before applicationto the metal core strip;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation, on the line 3-3, Fig. 1, through a setof forming rolls for making the cover strip;

Figs, 4 and 5 are cross sectional views, taken respectively on the linesand 5 5, Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is an elevation of an arcuately bent portion of the metal corestrip, the cover strip being omitted.

Before the invention here involved is specically described, it is to beunderstood that such invention is not limited to the specific details ofconstruction and/or the speciiic arrangement of parts herein illustratedor described. It alsois to be understood that the phraseology orterminology herein employed is for purposes of description and not oflimitation, the scope of the invention being denoted by the appendedclaims.

Referring iirst to Fig. 1, this view illustrates, more or lessconventionally and in somewhat enlarged and exaggerated form, a windowchannel embodying the present invention. As shown, the window channelconsists of a channel-shaped sheet metal core member or core strip l0having a base or bottom wall Il and a pair of generally parallel sidewalls l2, the free longitudinal edges of which are here rolled or bentaround re-enforcing wires I3. This core member usually is transverselyslitted or slotted, or is of open or perforate form, to enable it to bebent in the plane of the window pane which it receives, the Y core baseI I lying on the outside of the curve and the side walls extendinginwardly, as shown in Fig. 6. The core member is covered or is enclosedor enveloped, either partly or wholly, by a cover member designed notonly to protect the core member but also, faces of the window panesuitable 4bearing surfaces along which the window pane slides, if it ised'gewise movable.

One suitable embodiment of a cover member made according to the presentinvention is illustrated in Fig. 2, the cover being laid out in the fiator developed form which it takes before attachment to the metal corestrip, as shown in Fig. l. It includes a. body member or layer I4 madeof any suitable and preferably cheap material, ordinary cheap cottonfabric being here utilized. The use of knit or bias-cut material iswholly unnecessary, because inherent longitudi-` nal stretch orelongation in this body layer is not required, as will hereinafter morefully appear. Accordingly, the warp and Woof threads of this body layermay extend parallel to and crosswise of the longitudinal edges thereof,making it possible to form th body layer of long strips cut from a rollof ordinary textile fabric in the usual manner.

However, longitudinal stretch in at least certain zones or regions ofthe complete cover strip as finally applied to the sheet metal coremember of the channel is essential to permit the channel to be bent inthe plane of the window pane, as described, without breaking or tearingthe cover strip or detaching it from said core member. Such elongationof the body layer is here provided by special form of the cover stripand the method of its manufacture.

As here shown, the body layer I4, of suitable width and of suitablelength, is corrugated transversely or crosswise throughout its iength.That is to say, the material of the body layer I4 is bent or folded toprovide a series of recurrent hills I5 and valleys I6 extendingcrosswise of and throughout the length of such layer. To maintain thebody layerll in transversely corrugated form, to thereby enable thoseportions of such ,layer which lie along the window channel base andalong the window channel side walls adjacent said base to be readilyelongated in the lengthwise bending of the channel, use is here made oftwo bearing strips I8 which, in the nished channel, lie along the innersurfaces of the channel side walls for yielding contact with the lateralfaces of the window pane which the channel receives in use thereof.

As here shown, each of the bearing strips I8 is a special pile fabric ofthe general type disclosed in the Schlegel Patent No. 1,982,074 andcomprises a web portion I9 having a row of uncut pile 20 extendinglongitudinally between its side edges.

While the body layer I4 is in corrugated form, the two bearing strips I8are lengthwise secured thereto in properly spaced relationship, thesecurement being effected by the use of an adhesive or other suitablemeans and the bearing strips functioning to maintain the body layer incorrugated form.

Apparatus for forming the present improved cover strip is shown in Fig.3 as including a, series of paired rolls mounted upon two parallelshafts 2l, 22 driven by any suitable mechanism (not shown). In thepresent instance, there are three pairs of corrugated forming rolls 23,24-and 25 of like diameter spaced apart lengthwise of the shafts 2I, 22and separated by two pairs of intervening pressure rolls 2B, 21. Thetotal length of the ve sets of rolls is the total width of the bodylayer I4 of the cover strip and each pair of the pressure rolls 26, 21has a length coextensive with the width of a bearing strip I8.

to present to the lateral With the rolls rotating in the directionsshown by the arrows in Figs. 4 and 5, the body layer I4 is fed betweenthem, the two bearing strips I8 also being fed in above the layer I4 insuch posi` tions as to come kbetween the pressure rolls 26, A suitableadhesive (not shown) is supplied in advance either to the lower surfacesof the bearing strips I8 or to ,those portions of the upper surface ofthe body layer I 8 which the bearing strips overlie. Where the bodylayer encounters the corrugated' rolls 23, 24, 25, those rollslintergear or are so close together as to form the material between theminto corrugations, and necessarily those corrugations continue acrossthe intervening spaces occupied by the pressure rolls 26, 21. As tothese pressure rolls, both may be smooth but preferably, as shown inFig. 5, the lower one of each pair is corrugated, like the .rolls 23, 24and 25. Their arrangement and relative spacing presses the bearingstrips I8 and the body layer I4 closely together without appreciablydisturbing the corrugations of the body layer, and thus accomplishesattachment of the two bearing strips I8 to the body layer I4. Thechannel cover as it leaves the rolls travels over any suitable supportor is coiled or otherwise held for a. sumcient time to permit theadhesive to dry so that the attachment becomes substantially permanent.

It should be noted that in the two rows 20 of pile material, the pile,though relatively high, is quite soft and flexible and hence attens downas the bearing strips pass through the rolls, so that such pile to allintents and purposes is of negligible thickness and therefore is notshown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

For the formation of`the window channel, the cover strip is applied tothe sheet metal core member either while such member is in iiat form orafter it is bent to channel shape, or the application of the cover stripandthe bending of the core member may be progressive as the two movealong together. In the present instance, the cover strip is disposed asshown in Fig. l, with its two longitudinal edges 21 adjacent each otherand lying within the channel and on its bottom. The two bearing strips I8 are located adjacent the free longitudinal edge portions of the windowchannel, the pile 2D of each such bearing strip extending inwardly forcushioning engagement with the window pane which the channel receives inuse thereof. Preferably and as here shown, a strip 28 of lengthwiseextensible felt or other suitable material is arranged in the bottom ofthe channel and hence overlies the free longitudinal edges of thechannel cover strip. If desired, an adhesive may be used to secure thechannel cover strip in assembled relation with the sheet metal channelcore member and to secure the channel bottom strip 28 in place, theadhesive being of such character, however, as to permit elongation ofthe corri' gated cover strip along the base of the channel when thechannel is longitudinally bent. When so bent, the channel core membertakes the form shown in Fig. 6, the cross straps 30 between the slots 3lmoving farther apart on the outside of the curve and thus in effect,lengthening the channel base. The securement of the bearing strips I8 tothe corrugated body layer i4 ofthe channel covering thus do not preventlengthwise extension of such bodylayer along the channel bose, thebearing strips being located -adjacent the free longitudinal edgeportions of the channel side walls where extension of the channelcovering is unnecessary. The provision of the transverse corrugations inthe body layer of the channel covering aords the extra fullness for theelongation of the channel covering along the base of the channel, sothat the material of said body layer need not be of inherentlyextensible character.

To those skilled in the art, other features and advantages 0f thepresent invention will be evident from the foregoing descriptionthereof.

What I claim is:

1. A cover strip for an elongated window channel core of the type whichis of channel-shaped cross section with a base and a pair of side wallsand which core is capable of being longitudinally bent in the plane ofthe window pane which the core receives in use thereof, said cover stripcomprising an elongated layer of flexible textile material provided withtransverse corrugations, and two laterally spaced means extendinglongitudinally of said layer and attached to the corrugations thereoffor the maintenance, pending longitudinal bending of the core afterapplication of the cover strip thereto, of those corrugations of thelayer which extend between such two laterally spaced means, said twomeans being spaced apart a distance greater than the width of the corebase and at least portions of the corrugations between said two meansbeing disposed across said core base upon the application of the coverstrip to the core, whereby when the core is longitudinally bent, afterapplication of the cover strip thereto, the corrugations extendingacross the core base are capable of flattening out for the necessaryelongation of that portion of said layer which is along the core base.

2. A cover strip for an elongated window channel core of the type whichis of channel-shaped cross section with a base and a pair of side wallsand which core is capable of being longitudinally bent in the plane ofthe window pane which the core receives in use thereof, said coverAstrip comprising an elongated layer of flexible textile material ofsubstantially no inherent longitudinal extensibility, said layer vbeingprovided with transverse corrugations, and two laterally spaced meansextending longitudinally of said layer and attached to the corrugationsthereof for the maintenance, pending longitudinal bending of the coreafter application of the cover strip thereto, of those corrugations ofthe layer which extend between such two laterally spaced means, said twomeans being spaced apart a distance greater than the width of the corebase, at least portions of the corrugations between said two means beingdisposed across said core base upon the application of the cover stripto the core, whereby when the core is longitudinally bent, afterapplication of the cover strip thereto, the corrugations extendingacross the core base are capable of iiattening out for the necessaryelongation of that portion of said layer'fwhich is along the core base.

3. A cover strip for an elongated window channel core of the type whichis of channel-shaped cross section with a base and a pair of side wallsand which core is capable of being longitudinally bent in the plane ofthe window pane which the core receives in use thereof, said cover stripcomprising an elongated layer of flexible textile material ofsubstantially no inherent longitudinal extensibility, said layer beingprovided with transverse corrugations, and two laterally spaced meansextending longitudinally of said layer and attached to the corrugationsthereof for the maintenance, pending longitudinal bending of the 6 coreafter application of the cover strip thereto, of those corrugations ofthe layer which extend between such two laterally spaced means, said twomeans having substantially no 'longitudinal extensibility and beingspaced apart a distance greater than the width of the core base, atleast portions of the corrugations between said two means being disposedacross said core base upon the applica-tion of the cover strip to thecore, wherebywhen the core is longitudinally bent, after application ofthe cover strip thereto, the corrugations extending across the core baseare capable of iiattening out for the necessary elongation of thatportion of said layer which is along the core base.

4. A cover strip for an elongated window channel core of the type whichis of channel-shaped cross section with a base and a pair of side wallsand which core iscapable of being longitudinally' bent in the plane ofthe window pane which the core receives in use thereof, said cover stripcomprising an elongated layer of ilexible textile material provided withtransverse corrugations, and two laterally spaced bearing stripsextending longitudinally of said layer and attached to the corrugationsthereof for the maintenance, pending longitudinal bending of the coreafter application of the cover strip thereto, of those corru gations ofthe layer which extend between such bearing strips, said bearing stripsbeing spaced apart a distance greater than the width of the core baseand the width of each of the two core side walls, so that uponapplication of the cover strip to the core, the bearing strips lie alongthe inner surfaces of the core side walls for contact with the windowpane which the core receives in use thereof, and the corrugationsbetween said bearing strips 'extend across the outer surfaces of thecore base and core side walls, whereby when the core is longitudinallybent, after application of the cover strip thereto, the corrugationsextending across the core base are capable of fiattening out for thenecessary elongation of that portion of said layer which is along thecore base.

5. A window channel, comprising an elongated core of channel-shapedcross section having a base and a pair of side walls, and longitudinallybendable in the plane of the window pane which the window channelreceives in use thereof, and a core covering comprising a strip offlexible textile material provided with transverse corrugationsextending across the core base and across at least portions of the coreside walls, and two laterally spaced elongated means secured to thecorrugations of said covering strip, one such means lying alongside eachof the core side walls and maintaining in corrugated form, pendinglongitudinal bending of the core, that portion of the covering stripwhich lies along the core base, the flattening out cf the covering stripcorrugations which extend across the core base providing, when the coreis longitudinally bent, the necessary elongation of that portion of thecovering strip which lies along the core base.

6. .A window channel, comprising an elongated core of channel-shapedcross section having a 'i base and a pair of side walls andlongitudinally laterally spaced strip members having substantially nolongitudinal extensibility secured to the corrugations of said coveringstrip, one such strip member lying alongside each of the core side Wallsand maintaining in corrugated form, pending longitudinal bending of thecore, that portion of the covering strip which lies along the core base,the flattening out of the covering strip corrugations which extendacross thecore base providing, when the core is longitudinally bent, thenecessary elongation of that portion of the covering strip which liesalong the core base.

7. A window channel, comprising an elongated core of channel-shapedcross section having a base and a pair of side walls and longitudinallybendable in the plane of the Window pane which the window channelreceives in use thereof, and a. core covering comprising a; strip ofexible teX- tile material provided with transverse corrugationsextending across the outer surface of the core base and across the outersurfaces of the core side walls and across at least portions of theinner surfaces of the core side walls, and two laterally spaced bearingstrips secured to the corrugations of said covering strip, one suchbearing strip lying alongside the inner surface of each of the core sideWalls for bearing contact with the window pane which the window channelre- REFERENCE S CITED The following references are of record in the leof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,708,059 Griffiths Apr. 9, 19291,751,733 Griillths Mar. 25, 1930 1,890,308 Taylor Dec. 6, 19321,026,870 Klotz May 21, 1912 2,228,236. Stratton Jan. 7, 1941 1,931,881Bailey Oct. 24, 1933 2,055,833 Bailey Sept. 29, 1936 2,102,936 BaileyDec. 21, 1937 2,204,630 Spraragen June 18, 1940 2,299,595 Rydquist Oct.20, 1942

